Meet Me At The Lake
by TheWitchTwins
Summary: Cato and Clove, from District 2, they were star-crossed lovers, but no one knew. The Hunger Games from Cato and Clove's point of view. I ship Clato so hard. (Working Title, May Be Subject To Change.)
1. Let The Games Begin

**Okay! So guys, I know it has been years since I last updated or posted anything, but I'm getting back to it. I promise, especially once summer comes around and there wont be anymore school to get in my way. I'm a freshman now and I'm hoping my writing skills have gotten better. I'm thinking about starting the old stories back up, but I don't know if I have hit a dead end on those yet. (For those of you who don't know, I write a lot of Twilight fanfic.)**

**I ship Clato so hard you guys..**

**Anyway, without further adieu, The story. **

**Most things belong to Suzanne Collins.**

_Clove POV_

"_60. 59. 58. 57. 56. 55. 54."_

The announcers voice resounded over the intercom after we all raised up from the ground onto our platforms. I gasped inwardly and the overwhelming smell of nature. I glanced at my gorgeous Cato, who was already looking back at me.

I'd already wasted six seconds.

"_53. 52. 51. 50. 49. 48. 47."_

He looked pointedly at a single item in the Cornucopia, then back at me. Knives. Dozens of them. Different lengths and widths and handles and colors and sereated edges and everything. They will be mine. My leg moved forward involuntarily but I jerked back before they had to scrape me off the platform in pieces.

"_46. 45, 44. 43. 42. 41. 40. 39."_

We've been standing here for ages! Let us go! For the love of god...

"_38. 37. 36. 35. 34."_

I saw the little girl from District 11 out of the corner of my eye. She was cute, her eyes saturated with terror. I couldn't wait to watch the life drain from them in my hands.

"_33. 32. 31. 30."_

Half way there. `

"_29. 28. 27. 26."_

The mushy-eyed "star-crossed lovers" from District 12 were looking at each other. It was disgusting. I knew what true love looked like. I saw it every day in my mother and fathers eyes. That girl did not have that look in her eyes. I had never looked long enough at the boy the be able to tell.

"_25. 24. 23. 22. 21. 20. 19. 18. 17. 16."_

My heart jumped into my throat. My stomach dropped to my feet. My mind had never raced so fast.

"_15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8."_

I took one last look at Cato. I studied every last detail of his face. The bright grey eyes that could change to blue on a whim. His straight nose. His lips, soft and perfect fitting to mine, smooth. The solid defined jaw line that moved and shaped his flawless face. He could win this. He could really make it. I wasn't nearly as sure of myself. Cato would make it out of here, surely.

" _7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2."_

"I love you, Cato." I whispered into the air, hoping the wind would carry it to Cato before it fell silent.

"_1."_

**So. first chapter. My first chapters are always short. Sorry. But, please let me know if you liked it and if you think I should bother to continue. I have a few more chapters kinda written up, but please, I would love to hear what all you guys think!**

**Love Always, TWT**


	2. The Reaping

**Alright. Chapter 2. I got this. Whoo! I hope this goes good. These next couple chapters go back to Clove and Cato's journey through the process of the games from Reaping Day to the first chapter.**

**Here we go.**

_Chapter 2_

_Clove pov_

_Reaping Day_

I woke up excited, very excited. Today is the Reaping Day, the day I get to volunteer as tribute to take some one else's place in the 74th annual Hunger Games.

I jumped out of bed and nearly straight into the tub of water my mother had drawn for me, as always on this day of the year. But this year is different. This is the year I volunteer. I'm leaving District 2 today, on a fast train to the Capitol. But one thing that is the same, is I get pampered.

My mother had sewn me a deep purple gown. The bodice hugged mine tightly and puffed out at the hips and caught all the light on its way, cascading to the floor. My hair was curled, the way it looked its best, my bangs pinned back behind my ears. My mother came in carrying small jars of assorted colors .

"What are those" I asked hesitantly.  
"Make up" Make up was something that people used on their faces to make themselves more appealing. My mother always said it was used to highlight natural beauty. However, make up was such a rarity in the districts, I wondered what she had spent or traded trying to acquire this. It was usually passed down as heirlooms and reserved mainly for weddings at the least.

"Oh my gosh, Momma, how in the world did you get this?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is, we are going to highlight your – "  
"My natural beauty, yeah, I get it." I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

She swept a brush coated in a solid purple color across my eyelids. A black liquid the same color as my hair touched my eyelashes and my tear lines. As she did all this, I thought.

I don't like people. I never really have and I doubt I ever will. I have never really been one to make friends easy, and mostly because I didn't want to. My mother was one of the few people on this planet that I have ever cared for. Her and my father. I just am not a considerate person. I'm selfish and I care about power. That's the reason I'm so excited about the games. This is the one place in the world I will be able to dominate and show off my strength. Though, there was one other person I cared for. One person that could turn me from a cold blooded killer into... a girl. But not for long. Because he, is just like me.

"Oh... Clovely?" A male voice came forth in my doorway. I recognized it immediately.

"Cato!" I flung my arms around his neck before stepping back to admire him. He wore a gray dress shirt the same color as his eyes, tucked into black dress pants and polished shoes. His blonde hair didn't hang in his eyes now, it had been brushed back. "You look – "

"You're so.."  
"Perfect" We said in unison. My mother chuckled.

Cato and I traveled through town to the center, his hand tightly wrapped around mine. He tapped his thumb on the back of mine and he averted all eye contact when we talked. His answers we short, one word, almost snappy.

"Whats going on with you, Cato?"

"What do you mean 'whats going on'? Nothings going on. Nothing's wrong. Why would you ask that?" He spoke fast, releasing my hands and running his hands through his hair then shoving them in his pockets.

_Really?  
_

"Clovely.. I need to ask you something." I didn't respond so he continued, then stopped. Cato grabbed me by my shoulders and set me down on the edge of the fountain. "Clover Sevina, I love you. And... And if... _When.. _You come home.. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He swiftly kneeled down directly in front of me."Clove, will you do the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?"

"I don't.. I. Cato. I'm sixteen. You're eighteen! This.."

"No no no no no Clove, no listen. Just answer me something. Do you ever want to be with anybody except for me?"

"No."

"Will you marry me? Clove. Please. Your leaving made me realize that life is way too short. I don't want to waste another second without having you."

"Yes. Yes. Cato. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife." The biggest smile I had ever seen broke across Cato's face. He kissed me and spun me around in his arms. "Now put me down. Nobody is going to think I'm intimidating with my boyfriend – "

"Fiance." he interrupted.  
"Fine, with my fiance spinning around in the air making me giggle." I pushed his arms away from me and released his hand.

"Wait." He slid the ring on my finger. A perfect fit. "Its almost as beautiful as you." With one last kiss, we became serious. I became the girl that district two would soon know as their victor.

"Hello children of District 2!" Jazmeena Munarch tapped the microphone with a long orange finger nail. "And welcome to the 74th annual Hunger Games! Lets not waste time and pick the girls!" she walked – more like glided – to the glass bowl of tributes. She seemed to not take steps. "Amirse Colner. Now. Do we have any volunteers?"

"I volunteer as Tribute." My voice did not waver nor falter. I sounded calm, steady, deadly. Jazmeena Munarch waved me forward with a too-big grin. Cato gave my hand one last squeeze. "Ill be home soon." I whispered under my breath, but I don't know if it was more for Cato, or myself.

Cato promised me that we would never go into the games together. He gave up volunteering this year – his last year eligible since he will be turning 19 soon – so that I could volunteer. I knew I had to win or else Cato's sacrifice would be for nothing.

"Now for the boys..."

My heart dropped.

"Cato Hadley."

My mind went numb. No. No. It will be okay. Its fine. Everybody wants to be in the games. Somebody will volunteer, they have to.

"Do we have any volunteers?" not a single hand raised. Not one. Not even an unsure face. Everybody knew Cato was a stone cold killer. They knew he had a real chance. They have seen him in training. Everyone knew Cato would win – even me – so they were going to let him.

Cato's feet started to move, then stopped at the bottom of the platform. He glanced back to the crowd with pleading eyes. But nobody answered his last cry for help.

I will not cry. I will NOT cry. I refuse to allow them to think this will phase me. So for now, I will choke back my tears, I will not scream or cry, or even look passive. I will smile. I will shake Cato's hand. Then tonight when I'm alone, I will let the worst pain I've ever felt rush over me and consume me. I will throw myself into my training and I will lose the Hunger Games. For Cato.

**So, how was that? Still good? For those of you who have never read any of my stories, this is where I like to talk about the reviews I got on the last chapter and answer them. Here we go.**

**Joyfire:**

"**You know, honestly, when I clicked I didn't know what to expect. When I read, I was intrigued. Clove is a difficult character to write because she isn't all lovey-dovey and sugary. Many make the mistake of writing her so, but I believe you made a successful attempt of creating a believable Clove. I would like you to continue because it sounds like you have a good story on your hands."**

_I agree completely. Ive read a lot of stories where I was like "Wait a second. Are you writing about Clove or Alice Cullen? Damn. But I see where I have let a little but of the girly seep in, I'm going to try to keep it down to a minimum. Thanks a lot though. I'm going to try to keep it going._

**CupcakeBakingUnicorns:  
"Babe. This is great. :)"**

_Well, Love, Thank you.^.^_


	3. Visits

**So. I feel as if that last chapter was fairly successful. How about y'all? Anyway, I'm not even gonna bother talking much about this. No information to share with y'all.. here we go.**

_**Suzanne Collins owns.**_

_Chapter 3._

_Clove POV._

I twisted my new engagement ring from Cato around on my finger. I wasn't used to wearing jewelry. I didn't really have any passed down to me in my family. Maybe a necklace here or a bracelet there to wear on special occasions. I wonder where Cato got this...

I was taken to a room in District Hall. It was up flights of stairs and was filled with lush furniture made of materials I didn't know the name of. The lights were bright and hung from the ceiling, reflected by shards of crystals that clattered and made a light tinkling sound when a breeze flowed in the open window. Light music played on the television down a hall somewhere. The atmosphere in the room was very light for such a normally devastating occasion. The door opened and my parents appeared in the doorway.

"Oh my poor Clove." I flung my arms around my mothers neck. She wasn't much taller than me but I felt especially childlike with the pain in my chest incapacitating me.

"Momma! You have to help me please! There has to be something we can do. Cato. And I .. and the – and but-but I just Cato... no.. not.. and the engagement!. And now... and in the games-what so I .. momma you have to help me!" I sank to my knees on the ground and she followed me down, cradling my head and wiping my face dry. I spoke incoherently and I'm sure she didn't catch a single word.

"Engagement?" No such luck. She heard that word.

"Cato – he asked me – to marry – him when I – came – home... I – said yes.." I said to her, my sobs interrupting and my gulping making my pauses longer than normal. That's when my ring caught her eye.

"Its beautiful, much like you." She said, nearly mirroring Cato's words earlier. "Honey, I don't know much about the games. But all the advice I could give you is to stay by his side. If you love eachother, it will work out. Maybe you two can make it to the end together. Allow him to spend all the last of his minutes with you, the love of his life."

His last moments... it became clear what my mother was saying... She still expected me to win. To kill my fiance.

We sat in loving silence for the next 20 minutes we were allowed to say goodbye, me curled up in my fathers lap, him rocking me back and forth while my mother hummed in my ear a song about a daughter growing up and leaving home with her new husband. I tried not to let it sink in that I would never ger to have that experience with Cato.

"Your time is up." the peacekeeper in the door said, his hands latching onto my fathers arm and another came for my mother.

"We love you, Clover! You have to win! For him..." he voice faded as she was dragged from me, her tears flowing like the stream that ran through the center of District 2.

"Ill try! I will!" I shouted before the heavy wood door slammed shut. "I cant..." I whispered quietly to myself as I fell back onto the couch, crying into my hands.

I didn't expect anymore visitors, so when the next group of people came thorugh the door, I was surprised it wasn't peacekeepers coming to take me away. It was Mr. and Mrs. Hatley. Cato's parents.

"Hello, Darling." Roseland said, pulling me into a hug, pressing my temple into her shoulder. "We are so proud of you."

"Thank you, Mom." She was my mom. I definitely felt like they were my own parents already.

Cato's father, Rex, was a quiet man. He never spoke much, and when he did, it wasn't very loud. He kept most of his opinions to himself, but he didn't seem unhappy. He smiled when he sat on the porch with Roseland, feeling the suns heat beat down on his face. He laughed when Roseland and Cato referenced a Hatley family joke and I looked puzzled.

"Clove... you know, I've always thought of you as a uh – well, as a daughter of sorts. We all know how Cato feels about you. I have never seen my son as happy as he is when he is with you. He smiles bigger, his eyes shine brighter, and by God, he laughs louder." Rex chuckled a bit. "Im going to tell you the same exact thing I told Cato. Stay _together_. If you turn against eachother from the get-go, you will both be forced to survive the arena alone. Don't do that to yourselves. Spend all the time you can together. Love each other as long as you can."

"Thank you.. Dad." I smiled a bit, wholeheartedly, but small. I hugged him and whispered again in his ear. "Thank you."

A peacekeeper came in soon after that. "Time to go." he reached out to Roseland who jerked her arm from his reach saying "Yeah yeah yeah, we get it." and walking out. "We are rooting for District 2, Clove!"

The door shut, leaving me alone again. There would surely be no more visitors. It was only my parents in my family, then Cato and his parents. I sit once again on the couch and run my fingers through the plush material, a deep red. The color is not comforting, not given the circumstances.

Jazmeena came in within minutes accompanied by peacekeepers and Cato. We got in a car, then a train. I had never been on a train before. They were only used for travel between districts and and nobody ever switched districts. Ever.

Cato and I held hands while Jazmeena rambled off about manners and interviews and costumes and mentors and a bunch of other stuff I really didn't care about. Cato was by my side and that's what really mattered.

"What are you two so cozy for? Shouldn't you be getting ready to kill each other?" a very bitchy woman stood before us, flanked by another woman and a man who looked like he could hold a house to the ground in the event of a tornado. The second woman was easily six feet tall and I immediately recognized her as Lyme, a past victor of the hunger games and our mentor. One of three. Which left the one speaking to be Enobaria, and the man to be Brutus.

"We are engaged." Cato said with a look that should have turned Enobaria to ice. She leaned against a wall and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes.

"Oh great." Lyme rolled her eyes, flinging her arms in the air as if in defeat and stormed to the corner of the room. She picked up and apple and dug her finger nails into it's skin until the juices flowed down her wrists and wet her sleeves. "Now they will never fight!"

"You're wrong," a voice said. But it wasn't Cato's. It took me a moment to realize that my mouth was talking on its own accord. I didn't mean to say anything. "You're wrong, Lyme. I'm going to fight. And I know Cato will too. I plan on making it to the very end of these games. But I'm not doing it without Cato."

"Well, we have Cato here I see. Whats your name, Spunky?" Brutus asked in a voice that I'm pretty sure could have rocked the train off its tracks.

"Clove. Clove Sevina."

"Can't you just say Hatley now? Please. For me?" Cato asked quietly and I stood from the plush burgundy chair I rested in. His big, warm hand enveloped mine. I looked back down at him and his blue eyes appeared liquid. He had genuine worry and desperation in his eyes.

"Okay.." What was I going to do? Tell him No? One of us – possibly both – doesn't have much longer. I can't deny one of our last wishes...

"Clove Hatley.." I corrected to Brutus.

"What are your skills? Weapons? Traits?" he asked us both.

"Knives. I can do anything with any knife. Slashing, throwing, stabbing. Name it, I can do it." to prove my point, I picked up a handful of knives off the serving table that I hadn't even bothered to notice until now, and held them by the blades. I closed my eyes. Behind the dark of my eye lids, I could picture the room and where everyone stood. I focused on where Enobaria leaned against the wheel, felt the blade of the knife under my finger tips, and flicked my wrist, one after another, until all five knives were gone. I opened my eyes to find a room full of shocked mentors and a lazy half smile on my fiance's face, used to my antics. The knives had followed the exact paths I wanted them to. One just at Enobaria's shoulder, one directly above her head, one at the crook of her elbow, and the last two at each of her ears. Never touching her.

"Impressive enough." Brutus said carelessly, wiping the surprise off his face and replacing it with indifference. "What about you, Boy?"

"My name is Cato." He said through clenched teeth. He believed everybody had a name for a reason. Nick names were a sign of love. If Cato ever called you something that was not qualified as a nick name, you knew it was a sign of distaste.

"Yeah. Okay. What about you _Cato_?" he spat his name like it was venom in his mouth.

"Nothing. I don't have any particular strength or skill or. I just know how to protect my own." his eyes quickly flashed to me and back.

What in the literal _fuck_ was he doing? He could pick up any weapon and immediately know how to use it. A spear, a mace, a sword, knife, bow, _anything_. So why was he lowering his abilities? I stood with my mouth agape.

"Jazmeena said to be in the here before 6pm sharp. You will be staying down through those double doors. Cato to the right. Clove to the left. Wear whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Just be sure to meet deadlines. We are on a schedule." Lyme said quietly, contemplating something. With that, they each turned and left.

"Well Clove, how about – "

I stomped to my room before I heard another word from Cato.

I didn't even bother to take a look at the bedroom before I decided to take a shower. I grabbed something from the drawers in the room, not looking at them and began tearing my clothes from my body.

Then the panic hit. I could feel the flush of blood rising up my chest, neck, and into my cheeks. My hands began to shake and my body felt like it was on fire. By the time I had started the water in the shower and was down to my bra and underwear, I had collapsed to the floor in the corner of the bathroom, my body rocking with sobs. I curled into the fetal position, clutching my knees to my chest trying desperately to breathe. I felt like I never would ever again.

How long had I been on the floor before there was a knock on my bedroom door? Ten minutes? An hour? How long since the first knock on my door did a fist begin to pound harder and harder? How long before someone came rushing into the bathroom throwing their large muscle-banded arms around me?

"Shh.. Shh. Its okay Clovely.. Everything will be okay..." Cato's voice was the last thing I could remember hearing before I passed out.


End file.
